Treatment of oil, water, and gas emulsions



Nov. 28, 1939. J. P. WALKER 21812683 TREATMENT OF OIL, WATER, AND GAS EMULSIONS Original Filed March 29, 1935 7& 75

85 i i 79 I z 26 I I Z4 yak/1 pl 8/ l 25 w l 45 I I Jay Z Mute losses of the desirable gaseous fluids. in the head 23 and extends upwardly within 10.

Patented Nov. 28, 1939 v Q UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,181,683 TREATMENT OF OIL, WATER, AND GAS EMULSIONS Jay 1'. Walker, Tulsa, Okla., assignor of forty per cent to Guy 0. Marchant and six per cent to C. G. Wells, both of Tulsa, Okla Original application March 29, 1935, Serial No.

13,675. Divided and this application September 12, 1936, Serial No. 100,574

2 Claims- '(Cl. 183-231) This invention relates to new and useful imof the chamber 25 .at the upper end thereof provements in the treatment of oil, water and and discharges into a diverter box 21, whereby gas emulsions. the infiuent is caused to take a circumferential This application is filed as a division of my course around the inner wall of said chamber.

5 copending application, filed March 29, 1935, Se- The infiuent is scrubbed on the wall of the 5 rial Number 13,675. chamber 25, while the gaseous fluids which are One object of the invention is to provide an separated rise therein. A suitable outlet may improved apparatus for handling or treating subbe connected in an axial opening 24 provided stantially any grade of emulsion with minimum in said top 24. A vertical pipe 28 is mounted An -important object of the invention -is to the chamber 25. The pipe is located at one provide an improved treating unit wherein the side of the head and has its .upp end termiemulsion is treated by heat, and provided with hating just below t p whereby a 0 means located exteriorly of the unit for cooling munication is established between the chamber either the oil or gas, or both, whereby the oil 25 and t pp Portion of the tank 29 below 15 is more readily admixed with the gases and v head This P p 28 Will Permit gaseous gaseous liquids. fluids to flow either upwardly or downwardly A further object of the invention is t initially therethrough, whereby pressures on both sides separate a portion of the gas from the emulsion, of t head 23 Will be 'equalizedt W l a and then precipitate the water from the oil and permit gas l e t d above '0 be o t e ead 20 remaining gas, after which the oil is conducted to flow either down into the tanker p into from the tank and cooled; the gas w i h h the chamber. Counterflows maybe caused either been initially separated being conducted from by excessive well pressures or pressure differthe tank and cooled through'a heat exchange, entialswhereby the higher volatiles or liquid c t t The liquids which have been primarily sepais separated therefrom, and the ix th rated from the gas, but which contain some gas the cool oil which raises the gravity of the oil; in solution, flow from the chamber 25 down an the cooling of both gas and oil making for more axial discharge p p Th p p 9 e t nds efiicient mixing thereof. from the bottom of the head 23 and isoffset 30 A construction designed to carry out the in-. as to extend downwardly in close Proximity 30 vention will be hereinafter described, together tO-the wall of d tank- At its lower end the with other features of the inv ti pipe 29 is connected to one end of a horizontal The invention will be more readily understood nozzle 30 which extends diametrically across the from a reading of the following specification d tank, as is best shown Figure 1. The nozzle hi1 i'e fere rlce to the accompanyingidra i in 30 has; one or more elongated slots 3| therein 3 which an example'of the invention is shown,' hd and these slots may be located wherever desired.

wherein: The mixture or emulsion composed of oil and Figure 1 is a view, partly in section and partly water and substantially free from gas, is disin elevation of a treatin apparatus, constructed charged from the nozzle into a receiving hood 40 in a ce with the invention, and 32 which has a generally rectangular shape. The 40 Figure 2 is a plan vi w of th same, hood extends from the wall of the tank inwardly In the drawing, the numeral 20 designate an so as to overhang the nozzle, and the hat top upright cylindrical ta k of th usual construc of the hood is preferably provided with perforation, such as is used in the building of sepat ons, while the lower edges of its vertical walls rators. The tank is provided with-a suitable are formed with saw-teeth 45 ba 2| d false b tt 21 A dished head The emulsion which'is discharged into the hood 23 i r d with th t k near t upper from the nozzle will have a tendency to rise end thereof, while the extreme upper end of said but t eennot escape except ugh the p f t nk is closed by a crowned a or top 2 The rations in the hood or downwardly and around 5 b r 23 and 24 seal n: t upper portion the saw-teeth edges 32'. The hood 32 acts as of th t k, and as is obvious-Dy observing 9. spreader and causes the emulsions to flow more ure 1,.are spaced from eachother so as to form or less horizontally or laterally from the nozzle. 8- reeeivingor separating chamber-"25 therebe- Because of the degasification in the chamber tween. 25 the emulsion discharged from the nozzle will v Aninletpipe 25' extends the wall flow' more or less unagitated. The saw-teeth 55 and the perforations break up the emulsion into numerous small streams and thereby reduce the surface tension of the oil.

An upright housing 33, which is closed on three vertical sides and which has its bottom open, is

disposed in the lower part of the tank. The vertical edges along the open sides of the housing are attached to the inner wall of the tank 20, as is shown in Figure 3. The hood 32 is contained within the lower portion of the housing a substantial distance above the open bottom thereof. The housing is provided with transverse inclined bailles 33 which are located in staggered relation and the arrangement or mounting of the housing 33 within the tank is the same as the thermosyphon treating unit fully shown and described in my co-pending application filed March 29,' 1935, Serial No. 13,675, and my continuing application, Serial No. 280,362, filed June 21, 1939.

The tank 20 is provided with a manhole 34 which is located just above the hood 32, and a U-shaped tubular fire box 35 is mounted in the cover 34' of the manhole. The fire box extends into and across the tank within the housing 33 and it will be seen that by removing the manhole cover 34', said fire box may be bodily removed from the tank. The lower leg of the box is supported upon an angle bar 36 extending from the manhole to the opposite wall of the housing. This lower leg of the box is open and receives a suitable burner or heater (not shown),

- while the upper leg of said fire box is closed and carries a nipple 31 extending upwardly from the projecting end to which a suitable stack 38 may be attached. It is to be specifically noted that the invention is not to be limited to any particular kind of heat or heating element, as any suitable means for heating may be employed.

Under operating conditions, the water level within the tank 20 will stand some distance above the top of the housing 33., while the oil level will stand some distance above the water level. It is to beunderstood that the water level may, if desired, be below the top of the housing and any suitable means may be employed for controlling this water level. Therefore, it will be seen that the water standing within the tank 20 will be heated by the heater 35, and the emulsion which is discharged from the nozzle 3| will comingle with the body of heated water as it flows upwardly in the housing 33.

The action or' operation is exactly .the same as that of the treating unit disclosed in my copending application hereinbefore referred to. The upwardly flowing emulsion passing through the zone of the fire box 35 in the housing 33 will be properly heated and will then encounter the transverse inclined baflies 33' and as the emulsion passes upwardly through the housing, the water will be precipitated. Apertures or openings 4| are provided in the vertical side wall of the housing just above each baflie and nearer" the lower ends. These openings permit-water which is separated from the emulsion to run down the upper side of the bafile and escape from the housing. By the time the emulsion reaches the upper end of the housing and escapes into the tank from beneath the inclined top 40' of said housing, substantially all of the water will be separated therefrom and the upwardly flowing stream will be practically all oil with some gas in solution.

Due to the arrangement of the housing and baflles, a thermo-syphon action will be set up whereby circulation of water will be provided down through the vertical passages on each side of the housing 33 and upwardly within said housing. This recirculating of the water aids in heating the influent discharged from the nozzle 3|. thus requiring less heat to be supplied by the fire box. Further, the heated water passing downwardly around the housing and within the tank tends to insulate, by heat exchange, the fluids and liquids being heated within the housing 33, against the temperatures outside of the tank.

After the emulsion has travelled through the housing 33, it will finally escape from beneath the inclined top 40' of said housing and into the upper end of the tank 20. By the time the emulsion has reached this point, the water has been precipitated therefrom and the separated oil may then escape through an outlet pipe 43 which is provided in the wall of 'the tank 20 at a point below the head 23.

The pipe 43 discharges into the upper portion of the oil section of a preheating and cooling device 60 mounted vertically at the side of the tank 20. This device has upper and lower heads 63 and 64, respectively, supporting the ends of tubes 65 extending through the said oil section.

The lower head 63 is located above a cap 62 closing the bottom of the device .60. A condenser 15 is mounted on the upper end of the device 60 above the head 63. The condenser has an inlet pipe 16 which receives the influent from the well and this pipe is located at the upper end thereof. A head I! is spaced below this inlet and supports the upper ends of vertical tubes 18 which are open to receive the influent. The lower ends of these'tubes are fastened 'in a bottom head 13. This upper end of the space between the heads is connected by a right angular pipe 8ll'with the top of the chamber 25, whereby g'as rising from said chamber enters the condenser 15 and flows around and in contact with the vertical tubes '18. The gas being more or less warm will be cooled by the cold influent and thereby condensed, whereby the liquid gases are recovered. Below the head '19 and above the top head 63 of the device 60, a right angular passage 8| is formed by a right angular partition 82. This partition causes the influence which discharges at the lower end of the tubes 18 to fiow downwardly through the outer tubes 65 which are located within the preheater and cooler 60; The influent flows downthese outer tubes to the bottom of the device 60 below the lower head 54- and then upwardly through the inner tubes to the angular pipe 8| formed above the head 63. Byreason of the angular partition 82 the influent is directed into the pipe 26 which discharges into the diverter 21 within the chamber 25.

The diverter causes the influent to whirl or travel circumferentially around the chamber 25 whereby the major portion of the gas is released. Since the influent has been heated it is obvious that the gas will more readily escape. The gas which is separated in the chamber 25 flows up-, wardly into the pipe 80, while'the oil and water mixturepasses downwardlythrough a discharge pipe 29, asin the other forms. The lower portion of the condenser 15 is connected by a pipe 83 with the upper portion of the device 63 below theupper head 63. It is obvious that the warm through an outlet pipe extending upwardly therefrom;

Therefore, it will be seen that a majority of the gas is first separated from the emulsion, and

the oil and water mixture passed through the treating unit. After the water and oil are sep-. arated, said oil is cooled and the gas which has been primarily separated, is also cooled. The oil and liquid content of the gas, as well as the gas, are then remixed to restore the specific gravity of said oil. The cooling of the gas and oil facilitates the mixing thereof. that in all forms the cooling of the gas and oil occurs exteriorly of the treating tank. It is pointed out that although a thermo-syphon treating unit, such as is fully described in my co-pending application, hereinbefore referred to,' is employed, any suitable unit for accomplishing the separation. may be employed.

What I claim and desire. to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A separator including, the combination of an upright tank having means therein for separating gas from the influent entering said tank, a gas condenser at the upper end of-the tank having an influent inlet and outlet as well as a gas outlet, means in the condenser for conducting the influent in a segregated path therethrough, means for conducting gas from the separatlng means of the tank to the condenser, a

preheater connected with the outlet of the condenser. for receiving the influent therefrom, a conductor for conveying the gas condensate from. the condenser to the preheater, means for conductinghotoilfromthetankintothepreheater It is noted.

from the bottom of and mixing it with the condensate, means for conducting the hot oil from the preheater, means for conducting the influent through the preheater without contact with any other liquid, the influent passing relatively through the hot oil so as to be preheated thereby, a conductorfor conducting the preheated influent from the preheater to the tank, means for maintaining awater.

' extending from the top of the tank, an oil outlet in the upper end of ,the tank below the bottom of the chamber, a gas equalizing pipe extending from the bottom of the chamber, an emulsion influent inlet at one side ofthe chamber, an emulsion washing device occupying the lower portion of the tank, a restricted pipe extending the chamber down through the tank to the lower end thereof for steadily discharging the oil and water mixture from the separating chamber into the lower end of the washing device, a condenser mounted at the upper end of the tank, a gas pipe extending from the separating chamber to the condenser, an emulsion inlet to the condenser, means for conducting the emulsion through the condenser without admixing with gas therein, a preheater connected with the condenser for receiving the emulsion influent therefrom and connected with the separating chamber'for delivering the preheated emulsion thereto, and means for conducting the condensate from the condenser to the preheater.

. JAY P. WALKER. 

